The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1887-07-22
THE oYPsY's TENT.
Construction and interior Arrangement OF
the Homad's only Home.

center-pieee of oak, through which, in
either direction. pass the ends Of quar-
ter-cirelo hickory bows. the other ends
of which fit in the sockets of oaken pegs
driven Into the earth Over this frame
work. which no ordinary storm could
displace or weaken. Is tightly drawn
WOODEN stuff resembling our own old
| fashioned. homespun wooden sheets
There IL not stitch taken anywhere.
| You Will sec these wooden spreads
fastened together By dainty hickory
skewers. pointed and polished as a
farmers well-used husking-pin. The
rear end is always tightly covered, but
the front Is always open. The floor"
of the tent is usually covered with a
generous depth of clean straw, over
which are commonly seen bits Of sail
cloth or carpets and many blankets;
but IL the camp is where such trees
abound. they will give place to branches
Of the larch. pine or cedar. whose aroma
the Gypsies dearly love.
The interior of this little brown home
nest in the woods is something of a
study. The rear portion. consisting of
HuodA ADtiA AtGl VI tGTD>S
the tent, is sacred TO the valuables of
the family. which are bestowed at head
and foot of this remotest couch. always
occupied By the husband and wife.
| This is separated from another bed By
| old shawls or blankets. or sometimes By
gay cu.taiuiLg. Ia the latter bed the
girl pass the night. and between their
apartment and another at the tent
mouth IS more drapery. In the outer
division are packed the old men and
women, the boys and the dogs This
arrangement Is preserved. varying only
rs the size of each family may differ.
even If its head may be SO prosperous
as 10 own handsome wagon especially
built for the road. Even In this case the
owner and his belongings will more fire.
quentiy be found In the loved tent upon
the as dearly loved ground From
the stout tent-bows depend the fam
ily's aIl-sorts. from bits of ribbon and
innumertble articles Of apparel TO
poultry and extra pots and kettles
Each Of these articles Is oftener
tied In rs place BY slender willow
thong than with string. for the Gypsy is
| here<iitarily rs deft ut all use of the
withy, fragrant osier as is the sailor
with the sturdy, odorous rope Arti-
| ,.lcs If toilet are scant among the biioa-
terie uf the tent. But the Gypsy woman
OF girl, while neat and sweet about her
| person, has come To know MANY little
!r.cks Of adornment. where a waving
fold. or a deft tuck. or an airy tilt of
! the hair or scarf. stands her in good
stead in the place of handoline. batting
and fiummery of the social female pre-
tender, who, with all her perking and
| primping. can never attain her Gypsy
| sisters ingenious ingenuousness. But
/ two toilet articles can never be found.
| These are common property. They are
the coarse comb and the cheap looking
glass. The former does good service
or the horses taSS. The latter, while
eyerybody's who wants it. is the GYPSY
woman's only shrine I can give no
| reason for IL, but ] never vet saw mir
ror larger than oue's hand among these
| people; never was au unbroken one
seen among them; and the universal
| affair of this sort seems to be bit of
| broken looking-glass caught across its
sharp angles by thorn-like skewers.
and thus fastened To the wooden stuff of
| the brown tent-covers.
When you remember that this little
tent is the Gypsy's home. as much as
your own habitation is yours. and has
| been his home since his race was born
| IN the night of the centuries, you can
easily come into n partial recognition
| If the race feeling of attachment to and
sentiment In it. Indeed. this is not
going far enough. / believe IL true
throughout all the world that the
smaller the home-acre. the home-en-
sirunment-in fact. the home-nest itself
the dearer 1t Is to those who live and
love in IL In this compact fact and
sense the Gypsy ever glows In restful
enjoyment There IS a tender, loving
and almost pathetic eneompassing of
the little spot with his Very sight and
heart which / am sure am not deceived
about. lis very daintineSs and oneness
and littleness are all within his in
slant vision. comprehension. protection.
Hence it becomes a part of him. and to
HIM 50 sacred part. that there is no
mere use of expecting the snobbish
dwriler in modern American '.estab-
iishIacnt" tn admit the existence of such
a sentiment. than there Is in expecting
him ard his good ''lady." who are now
in palace and read the Sunday papers
regulf rly. TO admit that they started
out in life In ono room. on knuckle-
bone soup. at six dollars per week
But .ven in a language only pre-
served from lip to lip In memory, and
whose possessors are too Ignorant to
comprehend It's or their OWN origin,
there still remain from the imagery of
an almos; barbaric heart-lore many ex-
pressiuns of most poetic form and feel
ing. These tell how closely knit into
the very life-fiber of the Gypsy has
been the aspiration to make his tent
home tho symbol of all dearest and
best to him.-Edgar i. Hdkemaa, is
Chicago NeWs.
u. W. Holton, of New Haven.
Conn, who is staying In Buffalo jus,
now, exhibited to number of hotel
guests card upon which had been
written. in 1888, by his cousin, Mary S.
Holton, of Ellington, Conn, in circu-
lar space no larger than the butt end OF
an ordinary lead pencil. the old and
new version of the Lords Prayer. with
her full name and the town and State
in which she lives. 1t was conceded to
be remarkable performance, but
when Mr.. Holton stated that the work
was executed in fifteen minutes, with
the naked eye. his listeners looked with
open-mouthed wonder.-Boston Globe.
"A merchant in Los Angeles. Cal.
saw newsboy peering down into the
grating in the sidewalk in front of hi: